EP0789854B1 - Ensemble guide de lumiere pour pieger et guider de la lumiere - Google Patents

Ensemble guide de lumiere pour pieger et guider de la lumiere Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0789854B1
EP0789854B1 EP95934577A EP95934577A EP0789854B1 EP 0789854 B1 EP0789854 B1 EP 0789854B1 EP 95934577 A EP95934577 A EP 95934577A EP 95934577 A EP95934577 A EP 95934577A EP 0789854 B1 EP0789854 B1 EP 0789854B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
light guide
light
wall
prism
symmetry
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Expired - Lifetime
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EP95934577A
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German (de)
English (en)
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EP0789854A1 (fr
Inventor
Lorne A. Whitehead
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University of British Columbia
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University of British Columbia
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
    • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
    • G02B6/02—Optical fibres with cladding with or without a coating
    • G02B6/032—Optical fibres with cladding with or without a coating with non solid core or cladding
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F21—LIGHTING
    • F21V—FUNCTIONAL FEATURES OR DETAILS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS THEREOF; STRUCTURAL COMBINATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES WITH OTHER ARTICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F21V5/00—Refractors for light sources
    • F21V5/02—Refractors for light sources of prismatic shape
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F21—LIGHTING
    • F21V—FUNCTIONAL FEATURES OR DETAILS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS THEREOF; STRUCTURAL COMBINATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES WITH OTHER ARTICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F21V7/00—Reflectors for light sources
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
    • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
    • G02B6/0001—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings specially adapted for lighting devices or systems
    • G02B6/0096—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings specially adapted for lighting devices or systems the lights guides being of the hollow type
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
    • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
    • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
    • G02B6/42—Coupling light guides with opto-electronic elements
    • G02B6/4298—Coupling light guides with opto-electronic elements coupling with non-coherent light sources and/or radiation detectors, e.g. lamps, incandescent bulbs, scintillation chambers
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10S385/00—Optical waveguides
    • Y10S385/901—Illuminating or display apparatus

Definitions

  • This invention allows the light output of a large diffuse light source to be coupled into a prism light guide such that most of the light is confined in and guided along the guide, with only insignificant amounts of light escaping from the guide in the vicinity of the light source.
  • Light guides can be divided into two basic categories.
  • the first, and best known, is solid light guides whose cross-sectional area is composed entirely of a guidance medium.
  • Optical fibres, and larger analogous structures, are of this type. They achieve high efficiency because light is guided by total internal reflection, a non-absorptive process.
  • the second major category is hollow light guides, which can be more practical because they can guide more light using less material.
  • hollow metallic light guides confine and guide light by means of metallic reflection, which is an absorptive process.
  • prism light guides have been used to confine and guide light. These are hollow structures which achieve total internal reflection by means of careful arrangement of prismatic surfaces on the exterior of the prism light guide's transparent dielectric wall material (cf. for instance WO-A-93/24787 or EP-A-0 236 030).
  • prism light guides are more efficient than metallic light guides, they suffer from a serious drawback: they are only able to guide light which falls within a limited range of angles relative to the prismatic surfaces.
  • the diffuse light source is too large to allow sufficient collimation by a reflector to ensure that all of the reflected light rays satisfy the angular relationship aforesaid so as to ensure that essentially all such rays undergo total internal reflection as they propagate along the prism light guide.
  • the present invention provides a means for coupling the light output of a relatively large diffuse light source into a relatively smaller prism light guide such that most of the light is confined within and guided along the light guide, with only insignificant amounts of light escaping from the guide in the vicinity of the light source.
  • the present invention provides a light guide assembly as defined in claim 1.
  • the inner cover forms a cylinder of length "l” and diameter "d", with "l” being less than the light guide's length dimension and with each end of the cylinder extending more than 1.65 times the diameter "d" beyond the light source.
  • the outer prism light guide may also form a cylinder.
  • the outer prism light guide and the inner cover may form partial concentric cylinders truncated by a planar metallic reflector which intersects the optical centre line.
  • a light extraction mechanism may be provided to controllably emit light at selected points along the guide, with end reflector means being provided to prevent light emission through either opposed end of the guide.
  • Figure 1 is a pictorial illustration of a prior art prismatic light guide.
  • Figure 2 is a greatly enlarged, pictorial illustration of a segment of prismatic light guide wall material intersected by two notional planes and an incident light ray which defines a third notional plane.
  • Figure 3 is a cross-sectional elevation of a prismatic light guide having a well collimated light source.
  • Figure 4 illustrates the difficulty of coupling the light output of a comparatively large light source into a comparatively small prism light guide.
  • Figure 5 is a cross-sectional end view of a prismatic light guide and illustrates a phenomenon whereby light rays originating from specific locations relative to the light guide are confined and guided along the light guide irrespective of their angle relative to the light guide's axis direction.
  • Figure 6 is similar to Figure 2, but utilizes a Cartesian coordinate system.
  • Figure 7 is a graph which plots the range of angles for which prism light guide wall material produces total internal reflection using the Cartesian coordinates of Figure 6.
  • Figure 8 is a partially fragmented pictorial illustration of a non-absorptive means for preventing light rays emitted by a diffuse light source from entering the non-total internal reflection (i.e. non-shaded) zone of Figure 7.
  • Figure 9 is a graph which plots, in the Cartesian coordinates of Figure 6, the appearance of a diffuse light source surrounded by the cylindrical structure of Figure 8, when viewed from a distance from the cylinder's axis equal to 3.2 times the cylinder's radius.
  • Figure 10 shows the Figure 9 light escape zone of the diffuse light source covered by the Figure 8 structure, superimposed on the Figure 7 depiction of the total internal reflection zone of prism light guide wall material.
  • Figure 11 is a cross-sectional elevation of a prism light guide having a diffuse light source surrounded by a cylindrical cover of the type shown in Figure 8.
  • Figure 12 is a partially fragmented pictorial illustration of a structure similar to that depicted in Figure 11, but with light guide and cylindrical cover truncated.
  • Figure 13 is a cross-sectional elevation depicting four different prismatic structures which all satisfy the "octature" requirement characteristic of material suitable for forming a prism light guide.
  • Figure 14 is a cross-sectional elevation of a planar prism light guide conforming to the invention.
  • Figures 15(a), 15(b) and 15(c) depict three different shapes of prism light guide wall material, and the two vectors which characterize those shapes.
  • Figure 16 depicts a generalized prism light guide.
  • Figure 17 depicts a generalized form of non-absorptive means for preventing light rays emitted by a diffuse light source from entering a non-total internal reflection zone.
  • Figure 1 depicts an exemplary prior art prismatic light guide 10, which happens to be of circular cross-section.
  • the exterior face of the transparent dielectric wall material 12 of light guide 10 bears a plurality of prismatic surfaces 14.
  • prism light guides are only able to guide light which falls within a limited range of angles relative to the prismatic surfaces. Such rays undergo “total internal reflection", meaning that they remain confined within the guide and propagate along the guide as they are repeatedly reflected by the prism light guide wall material.
  • the direction of incidence of a given light ray relative to the prismatic wall material is what determines whether that ray will undergo total internal reflection or escape from the side wall. This can be described in terms of the angles ⁇ and ⁇ shown in Figure 2, which depicts a segment 12' of transparent dielectric wall material bearing prismatic surfaces 14'. Segment 12' is perpendicularly intersected by a first notional plane P 1 parallel to prismatic surfaces 14' and by a second notional plane P 2 transverse to prismatic surfaces 14'.
  • the light ray R defines a third notional plane P 3 which intersects plane P 1 at an angle ⁇ , with the ray R intersecting the perpendicular bisector of planes P 1 , P 2 at an angle ⁇ .
  • ⁇ is the refractive index of the material.
  • ⁇ is approximately 30°.
  • FIG. 5 depicts an example of this phenomenon for a circular cross-sectioned prism light guide 10' containing a notional cylinder 20 having a diameter "d". It can be shown that, for prism light guide wall material having a refractive index of 1.6, all light rays passing through cylinder 20 are reflected by the prism light guide wall material as long as the diameter "d" of cylinder 20 is less than or equal to 17.6% of the diameter of the circular prism light guide. The reason this phenomenon holds true is that as long as light rays pass through cylinder 20, the value of ⁇ as described above in relation to Figure 2 will always be less than 10.1° for any ⁇ , which ensures reflection for all values of ⁇ .
  • Figure 6 provides a more useful depiction of the range of directions for which prism light guide wall material will create total internal reflection.
  • Figure 6 uses a different means of describing the direction of light incident on prism light guide material 12', which is better adapted to diagrammatical representation on a plane surface.
  • Figure 6 depicts the same geometry as Figure 2, but using a Cartesian coordinate system.
  • the incident ray R has a unit vector (x, y, z), and in this depiction the two dimensional description of direction which is helpful is x/y, which depicts the deviation of ray R from normal to the light guide wall, in a direction perpendicular to prisms 14'; and z/y, which depicts deviation from the perpendicular to the light guide wall in the direction parallel to prisms 14'.
  • Figure 7 plots the range of angles for which prism light guide wall material produces total internal reflection.
  • Figure 7 is a projection onto a plane of precisely what one sees when one looks into a sheet of prism light guide wall material; that is, Figure 7 shows the visual appearance of the zone of total internal reflection (shaded area) versus the zone of transmission (non-shaded area).
  • Figure 7 illustrates two important features.
  • the second important feature is the asymptote where both z and x are much larger than y, in which case x/z ⁇ tan ⁇ c .
  • the present invention provides a non-absorptive means of preventing light rays emitted by a diffuse source from entering the non-total internal reflection (i.e. non-shaded) zone of Figure 7.
  • the invention in its simplest form ( Figure 8) consists of surrounding the diffuse source with a hollow transparent cylinder 22 having a smooth outer surface 24 and having an inner surface consisting of a large number of right angle prisms 26 which extend perpendicular to the axis of cylinder 22.
  • Cylinder 22 can be made, for example, from the same prismatic sheet material used to form prism light guides, by orienting the prisms differently (i.e. in a light guide the prisms face outwardly and extend parallel to the guide's axial direction).
  • Figure 9 shows how such a composite source would appear when viewed from a distance from the cylinder's axis equal to 3.2 times the cylinder's radius (the reason for this choice of distance is clarified below).
  • the appearance shown can be calculated from the characteristics of prism light guide wall material. Looking at the centre of the cylinder, one perceives an opaque zone (shaded area in Figure 9) of width ⁇ 0.179, which is the normal opaque zone at normal incidence of prism light guide wall material. The familiar shape of this total internal reflection zone is distorted by the curvature of the prism light guide wall material, into the shape shown.
  • Figure 10 the light escape zone of the diffuse light source covered by the Figure 8 structure as shown in Figure 9, is superimposed on a depiction of the total internal reflection zone of prism light guide wall material shown in Figure 7.
  • the refractive index of the prism light guide wall material is 1.6, this occurs for a diffuse cylinder having a diameter of 32% of the diameter of the prism light guide, which corresponds to an area of 10% of the cross-sectional area of the prism light guide itself.
  • this is a 3.2-fold increase in the cross-sectional area, compared to that which would be possible without such a prismatic covering, and which allows a corresponding increase in the amount of light which can be carried by a light guide of a given size.
  • Figure 11 shows how the foregoing concept can be adapted to a simple lighting product.
  • a diffuse light source 28 is surrounded by a cylinder 30 of the type shown in Figure 8.
  • Cylinder 30 is sufficiently long that light rays which pass directly from source 28 out the ends of cylinder 30 lie within the total internal reflection zone of the wall material forming prism light guide 32, without any need for further optical correction.
  • the diameter of cylinder 30 is 32% of the diameter of prism light guide 32.
  • Prism light guide 32 contains extraction mechanisms (not shown) to cause uniform escape of light over the length of guide 32.
  • the ends of guide 32 are capped with mirrors (not shown) for capturing light which propagates all the way to the end of the guide, so that all the light is efficiently utilized.
  • cylinder 30 nor prism light guide 32 need be fully circular in cross-section. As shown in Figure 12, they may be partly circular in cross-section, with the remainder truncated by a conventional metal reflector 34.
  • the transparent dielectric material most commonly used to form the walls of a prism light guide has isosceles right triangle prisms of the type shown in Figures 2 and 5, the optical principles which characterize prism light guides are not restricted to simple isosceles right triangle prisms.
  • the prism light guide wall material need only have surfaces which are in "octature", that is:
  • a fully generalized characterization of the invention must take into account both the microscopic and macroscopic structure of prism light guide wall material.
  • the following discussion presents a simplified method of describing the microscopic structure of prism light guide wall material at any given point in reference to simple well-defined macroscopic lines and directions. This facilitates characterization of the invention in general.
  • Figures 15(a), 15(b) and 15(c) each depict a small piece of prism light guide wall material 40 which is sufficiently large that it bears several complete prisms 42, but is sufficiently small that for all practical purposes the material is macroscopically flat and prisms 42 are uniform in shape over the extent of the piece.
  • the shape of material 40 or any given point is characterized by just two vectors.
  • An "octature symmetry direction" vector 44 defines at any point of the wall the direction of longitudinal extent of prisms 42.
  • the octature symmetry direction must be parallel to the macroscopic surface of material 40, but otherwise can have any orientation.
  • the octature symmetry direction must be parallel to the direction of longitudinal symmetry (i.e. the longitudinal axis) of the guide, but this is not necessary if material 40 serves another purpose, such as a cover of the type described above in relation to Figure 8.
  • the second vector is a "prism surface normal direction" vector 46 which is on a given face of the wall either perpendicular to or parallel to the prismatic surfaces situated on that face of the wall. From the above definition of the octature property, it follows that prismatic surfaces on the opposite face of the prism light guide wall material will be inclined at 45° to the directions just described. The prism surface normal directions must always be perpendicular to the octature symmetry direction but are otherwise unrestricted.
  • Figures 15(a), 15(b) and 15(c) depict three different examples of directions and show the resultant effect on the macroscopic structure. As mentioned earlier, all such materials are prism light guide wall material, but the direction of the prism surface normal affects the range of light rays which undergo total internal reflection in the case of light rays which lie beyond the acceptance angle of prism light guide.
  • Figure 16 depicts a generalized shape for an outer prism light guide 48 (i.e. analogous to guide 32 of Figure 11).
  • the prisms are not drawn explicitly as they are too small to see in this illustration, but they are described below using the foregoing dual vector terminology.
  • the cross-sectional shape of guide 48 is uniform in the plane perpendicular to a selected optical center line 50, but is arbitrary otherwise.
  • the prisms on the prism light guide wall material forming guide 48 are characterized at any point as follows:
  • Figure 17 shows a generalized cover 52 positionable within generalized guide 48.
  • Cover 52 is made of prism light guide wall material, but is not a prism light guide.
  • the material comprising cover 52 defines a figure of revolution about the same optical center line 50 as seen in Figure 16.
  • cover 52 is circular in all cross-sections perpendicular to optical center line 50.
  • the diameter of this circular cross-section need not be constant: as depicted in Figure 17 the diameter may vary along optical center line 50, so that a wide variety of shapes are possible for cover 52.
  • a spherical shell would fall within the restrictions described above.
  • the simplest and most common example is that of a cylinder but other possibilities may be very advantageous in certain situations.
  • cover 52 is not a prism light guide. Unlike guide 48, the octature symmetry direction of the prism light guide material forming cover 52 is not constant throughout, but rather varies from position to position. At any point on cover 52, the relationship shown for exemplary point 54 ( Figure 17) holds true; namely, the octature symmetry direction 56 of cover 52 at point 54 is perpendicular to the octature symmetry direction 44 of the prism light guide of Figure 16 and also is perpendicular to a line 58 drawn from point 54 through and perpendicular to optical center line 50.
  • the other defining characteristic of the material forming cover 52 is that the outside prism surface normal reference is either parallel or perpendicular to the notional line 58.
  • cover 52 is cylindrical, the above restrictions generate a prismatic structure such as that shown in Figure 8 with prisms on one side only. But, in general, prismatic surfaces will be found on both the inside and the outside of the cover material.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Optics & Photonics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Light Guides In General And Applications Therefor (AREA)
  • Non-Portable Lighting Devices Or Systems Thereof (AREA)
  • Planar Illumination Modules (AREA)

Claims (6)

  1. Ensemble guide de lumière pour piéger et guider la lumière émise par une source de lumière (28), comprenant :
    (a) un guide de lumière prismatique creux extérieur (32, 48)
    ayant une ligne longitudinale choisie appelée "ligne centrale optique" (50),
    formé d'une paroi de matériau diélectrique transparent disposé autour de ladite ligne centrale optique (50), ladite paroi ayant une structure, appelée "structure prismatique", selon laquelle au moins une des faces intérieure et extérieure de ladite paroi est formée d'une grand nombre de surfaces prismatiques à angle droit parallèles (14) qui sont en octature avec la ou les surfaces de l'autre face de la paroi, et dans lequel ladite paroi peut être en outre définie, en tout point de celle-ci, par deux directions spécifiques (44, 45), à savoir
    (i) une première direction (44), appelée "direction de symétrie d'octature", qui est la direction selon laquelle les surfaces prismatiques s'étendent longitudinalement, et
    (ii) une deuxième direction (46), appelée "direction normale à la surface de prisme", qui est, sur une face donnée de la paroi, la direction perpendiculaire ou parallèle aux surfaces prismatiques formant cette face,
    ladite paroi étant agencée et formée autour de ladite ligne centrale optique (50) d'une manière telle que
    (i) sa forme en section transversale est constante sur toute la ligne centrale optique (50),
    (ii) sa direction de symétrie d'octature (44) est, en tout point de la paroi, parallèle à la ligne centrale optique (50), et
    (iii) sa direction normale à la surface de prisme (46) est, en tout point d'une surface quelconque de la face intérieure de la paroi, soit sensiblement parallèle soit sensiblement perpendiculaire à une première ligne imaginaire s'étendant à partir dudit point et coupant perpendiculairement ladite ligne centrale optique (50),
       ledit ensemble guide de lumière étant caractérisé par :
    (b) un cache transparent creux intérieur (22, 30, 52) positionné à l'intérieur dudit guide de lumière prismatique creux extérieur (32, 48), pour intercepter une partie substantielle des rayons émis par la source de lumière (28) disposée à l'intérieur dudit cache transparent creux intérieur, et pour réorienter lesdits rayons interceptés d'une manière telle que sensiblement tous les rayons arrivant sur la paroi dudit guide de lumière prismatique extérieur sont totalement réfléchis vers l'intérieur par ladite paroi, maximisant ainsi la quantité de lumière guidée, dans lequel :
    ledit cache creux intérieur (22, 30, 52) est formé d'une paroi en matériau diélectrique transparent ayant également une structure prismatique (26), et
    ladite paroi est agencée et formée d'une manière telle que
    (i) elle forme une figure de révolution autour d'un axe de symétrie, ce qui donne une section transversale circulaire perpendiculaire audit axe de symétrie, dans lequel le diamètre de ladite section transversale circulaire peut varier le long dudit axe de symétrie,
    (ii) sa direction de symétrie d'octature (56) varie de point à point et est, à un point donné de la paroi, perpendiculaire à la ligne imaginaire (58) s'étendant à partir de ce point et coupant perpendiculairement son axe de symétrie, et
    (iii) sa direction normale à la surface de prisme est, en tout point d'une surface quelconque de la face extérieure de la paroi, soit parallèle soit perpendiculaire à la ligne imaginaire s'étendant à partir de ce point et coupant perpendiculairement son axe de symétrie,
    (c) dans lequel ledit cache transparent creux intérieur (22, 30, 52) est positionné dans ledit guide de lumière prismatique creux extérieur (32, 48) d'une manière telle que son axe de symétrie coïncide avec ladite ligne centrale optique (50) dudit guide de lumière, de sorte que la direction de symétrie d'octature (56) dudit cache intérieur est perpendiculaire à celle (44) dudit guide de lumière prismatique extérieur, et la direction normale à la surface de prisme dudit cache intérieur est parallèle ou perpendiculaire à la direction de symétrie d'octature du guide de lumière prismatique extérieur, et
       dans lequel ledit cache (22, 30, 52) est confiné à une zone suffisamment proche de ladite ligne centrale optique (50) pour éviter sensiblement la propagation des rayons lumineux incidents sur une surface intérieure dudit cache à travers le matériau de la paroi dudit guide de lumière prismatique extérieur.
  2. Ensemble guide de lumière selon la revendication 1, dans lequel ledit cache (52) forme un cylindre.
  3. Ensemble guide de lumière selon la revendication 2, dans lequel :
    (a) ledit cylindre intérieur a une longueur "l" et un diamètre "d";
    (b) ladite longueur "l" est inférieure à la longueur dudit guide de lumière prismatique extérieur; et
    (c) chaque extrémité dudit cylindre intérieur s'étend de plus de 1,65 fois ledit diamètre "d" au-delà de ladite source de lumière disposée à l'intérieur de celui-ci.
  4. Ensemble guide de lumière selon la revendication 1 ou 2 ou 3, dans lequel ledit guide de lumière prismatique extérieur (48) forme un cylindre.
  5. Ensemble guide de lumière selon la revendication 1 ou 2 ou 3, dans lequel ledit guide de lumière prismatique extérieur (48, 32) et ledit cache intérieur (52, 30) forment des cylindres concentriques partiels tronqués par un réflecteur métallique plan (34) qui coupe ladite ligne centrale optique.
  6. Ensemble guide de lumière selon la revendication 1 ou 2 ou 3, dans lequel ledit guide de lumière prismatique extérieur comprend en outre :
    (a) des moyens d'extraction de lumière destinés à émettre de la lumière de manière commandée à des points choisis le long dudit guide ; et
    (b) des moyens de réflecteur d'extrémité destinés à éviter l'émission de lumière à travers l'une ou l'autre des extrémités opposées dudit guide.
EP95934577A 1994-11-02 1995-10-27 Ensemble guide de lumiere pour pieger et guider de la lumiere Expired - Lifetime EP0789854B1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US08/333,340 US5481637A (en) 1994-11-02 1994-11-02 Hollow light guide for diffuse light
US333340 1994-11-02
PCT/CA1995/000613 WO1996014597A1 (fr) 1994-11-02 1995-10-27 Guide de lumiere creux pour lumiere diffuse

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0789854A1 EP0789854A1 (fr) 1997-08-20
EP0789854B1 true EP0789854B1 (fr) 1999-01-20

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EP95934577A Expired - Lifetime EP0789854B1 (fr) 1994-11-02 1995-10-27 Ensemble guide de lumiere pour pieger et guider de la lumiere

Country Status (7)

Country Link
US (1) US5481637A (fr)
EP (1) EP0789854B1 (fr)
JP (1) JP3032016B2 (fr)
CA (1) CA2200441C (fr)
DE (1) DE69507503T2 (fr)
NO (1) NO971856L (fr)
WO (1) WO1996014597A1 (fr)

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JPH10508704A (ja) 1998-08-25
NO971856D0 (no) 1997-04-22
NO971856L (no) 1997-07-02
DE69507503D1 (de) 1999-03-04
EP0789854A1 (fr) 1997-08-20
CA2200441A1 (fr) 1996-05-17
CA2200441C (fr) 2002-07-30
JP3032016B2 (ja) 2000-04-10
WO1996014597A1 (fr) 1996-05-17
US5481637A (en) 1996-01-02
DE69507503T2 (de) 2009-09-17

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